NSW boat owner’s $600 mistake at petrol pump

A NSW man pumped 231 litres of petrol into his rod holder rather than his boat's fuel tank. Image / msill23 via TikTok

A NSW fisherman has made a “bloody expensive mistake” at the bowser, accidentally filling up his rod holder instead of the fuel tank and wasting 231 litres of petrol.

In a TikTok video shared to the popular fishing page Fishing Sydney at the weekend, several people were seen hosing down the forecourt around a boat, which was parked at a 7-Eleven pump in West Pennant Hills in Sydney’s northwest.

@msill23

Whoops! 😬

♬ original sound - M Sill

“Guys, don’t make this mistake ever,” says the man behind the camera, as he pans to a fuel gauge displaying an eye-watering A$536.76 ($589) worth of fuel — or 231 wasted litres.

“They thought this was the petrol,” he continues, zooming in on the rod holder on the side of the vessel, which hollows out directly onto the floor.

Liquid can be seen pouring off the boat’s back steps, as bystanders shout for someone to call emergency services.

While some called the act “stupid”, others conceded they had made the same mistake.

“Have heard of it happening. Bloody expensive mistake,” one of the clip’s 530,000 viewers wrote.

The rod holder which a NSW boat owner mistook for the fuel tank when he recently tried to fuel his boat up. Image / msill23 via TikTok

“I did that once, bloody stainless rod holder right next to my stainless fuel cap. Fortunately only a couple of litres before I realised,” added another.

Though firefighters were called to help clean up the scene, some viewers pointed to the dangers of the blunder.

“I hope no one flicks a match down a drain. Every manhole will be sent into orbit,” one user wrote.

“All the gear no idea,” another joked.